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6Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Founder: John J. O?Malley 1905 - 1980 Charles P. O?Malley 1928 - 2000 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News is published monthly by Maritime Activ- ity Reports, Inc. Mailed at Periodicals Postage Rates at New York, NY 10199 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster send notification (Form 3579) regarding undeliverable maga- zines to Maritime Reporter/Engineering News, 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. Publishers are not responsible for the safekeeping or return of editorial material. ©2011 Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 477-6700; fax: (212) 254-6271ISSN-0025-3448USPS-016-750No. 1Vol. 74 MemberBusiness Publications Audit of Circulation, Inc.www.marinelink.com MARITIMEREPORTER ANDENGINEERINGNEWS All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.EDITOR?S NOTEHaving served as editor of Maritime Reporter & EngineeringNews for what is now closing in on 20 years, I am to this day still amazed by the continued contradictory nature of thisbusiness. Perfect example is this month?s cover which depicts the deckhouse of DDG1000 ?the largest composite structure ever built ? a massive structure being constructed and handled with seemingly the greatest of ease at Huntington Ingalls Industries Composite Centerof Excellence in Gulfport, Miss.The contradiction? While there is an amazing infrastructure and effort to make this next-generation technology pos- sible, it is precisely this type of innovation and infrastructure that is in the budgetary crosshairs, as the White House is prepared to announce a sweeping change in the way in which it spends on the military infrastructure, meaning a significant reduction in military spending for the generation to come.Don?t get me wrong, as a taxpayer I surely appreciate the need for fiscal control across all cate- gories. But having just returned from a quick trip to the Middle East, and watching the price of oil spike in tandem with Iran?s attempt at flexing its naval muscle buds, I find it hard to fathom that our U.S. Navy ? which is already stretched perilously thin on both personnel and physical assets ? will again be asked to do more with less. While my recent trip was to the Middle East, it was hardly an arduous mission, rather a comfort- able run to and from Bahrain just before the Christmas holiday. The Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard (ASRY) recently celebrated its 35th anniversary in business, and this, in conjunction with the inauguration of its $188m, 1.38km Repair Quay Wall, was cause for invite and celebration. ASRY is an interesting case study, born from and today still owned by the countries that make up the Organi- zation of Arab Petroleum Producing Countries (OAPEC), including: Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Libya. In addition to physical structure, Bahrain has a number of interesting initiatives ? from training & education to finance to port infra- structure ? which is geared toward making the Kingdom a global maritime and logistics center by 2030. The report on ASRY and the region starts on page 18. While in Bahrain ? as with an earlier 2011 trip the United Arab Emirates ? I was able to wit- ness first-hand the amazing amount of maritime work and infrastructure building. The region has of course been impacted by the global economic downturn, and there is the looming presence of politi- cal unrest in the region. But as a whole, the Middle East presents a compelling business case for anyone in the global maritime market selling product or service, as the ship repair business is pick- ing up steam with renewed competition, the offshore oil and gas business is growing in earnest, and the surrounding ports and infrastructure is rapidly emerging as a key logistics hub, for the Middle East, India and Asia, and Africa. MR Jan.12 # 1 (1-9):MR Template 1/10/2012 12:18 PM Page 6